This invention relates to multiple improvements to the performance of insulated assemblies for all matters of use, including walls, floors, roofs of dwellings and buildings and any enclosure designed to create a controlled thermal environment.
In the 2008 National Science and Technology report on “Net Zero Energy, High Performance Green Buildings”, “the greenest energy is that which is not used.” The report goes on to state that new construction techniques and methods must be employed to breach the current best energy efficiency standards for fully integrated designed structures. Deconstructing the current state of the art for building elements and looking for new materials and methods is an understood way to make a quantum leap in more energy efficient structures. Building codes incorporate climate data (zones) and insulation R values as a means to establish minimum building performance as a prescriptive method of designing structures. In more severe climates, walls are constructed with fiber glass batts or blown insulation, and the thickness of the needed insulation dictates the wall thickness. In addition, these insulations tend to settle over time, leaving un-insulated gaps and reducing their originally intended effectiveness. Insulation products are available that include some form of a radiant barrier, but it is always a single radiant barrier and little is given in the specifications of the product on how the radiant layer operates or how it should be properly applied in construction methods.
Typical insulated assembly construction uses an insulation material to resist the transfer of heat to reduce the energy required to heat or cool the controlled thermal environment. Although heat transfer can occur in all three forms: 1) conductive, 2) convective, and 3) radiation; traditional insulated assemblies are tested and measured in terms of overall R value (Utotal=1/Rtotal), where U value—overall heat transfer coefficient and R value—the resistive property of an insulation material, and overlook the effects of radiant heat transfer through the assembly. As industries are challenged to maintain higher of levels of energy efficiency, new methods need to be developed to adequately address all three forms of heat transfer.
Radiant heating as a technology is typically defined as a method of intentionally using the principles of radiant heat transfer to warm an object radiantly from an emitting heat source. Most prior art in the area of radiant heating define a heating source and radiant surface to initiate heat transfer. As stated in U.S. Pat. No. 5,931,381, entitled “FOR RADIANT FLOOR, WALL AND CEILING HYDRONIC HEATING AND/OR COOLING SYSTEMS USING METAL PLATES THAT ARE HEATED OR COOLED BY ATTACHED TUBING THAT IS FED HOT OR COLD WATER, TECHNIQUES OF IMPROVING PERFORMANCE AND AVOIDING CONDENSATION WHEN COOLING”, issued Aug. 3, 1999, “It is believed by many that hydronic radiant heating is the ideal way to warm the human body and superior to forced hot air heating.” Much of the prior art is typical of FIG. 1 and is focused on claims using a heated or cooled plate or panel to improve the occupant comfort by using radiant heating methods. Further, U.S. Patent 2011/0232883, “IN-WALL HYDRONIC THERMAL CONTROL SYSTEM AND INSTALLATION METHOD”, published Sep. 29, 2011, U.S. Pat. No. 6,182,903, “RADIANT FLOOR WALL AND CEILING HYDRONIC HEATING AND/OR COOLING SYSTEMS, USING MODULAR PANELS HINGED TOGETHER IN SETS OF PANELS, STAGGERING THE POSITIONS OF PANELS IN THE SETS SO THAT SETS ARE INTERLOCKING”, issued Feb. 6, 2001 both represent past works that claimed to use a heat TRANSFER METHOD (MEDIUM) 102 and a reflective element 101, to direct radiant heat to the conditioned space.
Further, a single layer of heated radiant material will radiate from both surfaces and the radiant heat loss from the side of the barrier that is directed away from the conditioned space is omitted and un-accounted for in the heating calculations and thermal performance.
Prior art with respect to insulated assemblies has incorporated some form of a radiant barrier but have not used any active forms or methods to affect the insulated assembly's performance. U.S. patent 2006/0230707, “VENTED INSULATION PANEL WITH REFLECTING SURFACE” issued Oct. 19, 2006, states “In more recent years, many products have been introduced that utilize the special properties of aluminum. Highly polished aluminum foil, or aluminum sheets, have the unique property of reflecting up to ninety-seven-percent (97%) of the incoming radiant energy.” As a related patent in FIG. 2, it includes a radiant layer 201 and an air gap 202 that by nature can create convective heat transfer, but this prior art does not treat radiant energy at both assembly surfaces; nor does it use a truly active method to reduce the heat transfer effect. Passive insulation methods 203 are used to limit heat transfer to the conditioned space.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,811,852, “REFLECTIVE HEAT INSULATION”, issued Nov. 2, 2004 (FIG. 3) features an insulated assembly that provides a radiant layer 301 at both exposed surfaces of the assembly, but provides only a pocket of dead air space 302 between the two radiant layers. This prior art lacks any active method to reduce the heat transfer effect.